A Southern California boy fulfilled his Mammoth potential

Jan. 13, 2014

Updated 7:34 a.m.

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Dave McCoy, founder of Mammoth Mountain, was an Olympic hopeful in his early years. COURTESY OF MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN

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Skiers and snowboarders ride the Thunder Bound Express, left, and the Panorama Gondola up the mountain at Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes as snow making machines fill the air with snow early one morning in December. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A skier gets some air off a jump as the Panorama Gondola makes its way up the mountain at Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes in December. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A skier gets air off a jump in Main Park at Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes in December. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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People gather around a large bonfire after sunset at the base of the mountain at Canyon Lodge prior to the Night of Lights celebration for the 60th anniversary of Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Skiers and snowboarders make their way down the mountain at Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes in December. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A large statute of a mammoth decorated for the holidays stands near the Main Lodge at the Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Dave McCoy created the Mammoth ski resort 60 years ago. At 98, he's a man who lives in the present. COURTESY OF MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN

Dave McCoy, founder of Mammoth Mountain, was an Olympic hopeful in his early years. COURTESY OF MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN

Life could have gone many ways for Dave McCoy.

As he finished high school in Washington state, the natural athlete had offers to become a pro boxer or join football's big leagues. But something inside his soul was pulling him south, to the snow-covered mountains in California.

“Something told me when I was a kid I was going to spend my life here,” he says. “I think the good Lord said to me, ‘You're going to spend your life in Mammoth.'”

Mammoth Mountain, about a six-hour drive from Orange County, has become the go-to spot for local travelers who seek world-class slopes, or for investors who have swooped up properties as second homes or rentals.

McCoy has seen Mammoth Mountain through all its growth, from when it was a six-person town into what it is today: a vibrant, busy mountain community that has become one of the top snow resorts and destinations in the country.

When asked to recount the history of Mammoth, the first thing McCoy says is this:

“I'm 98 years old, ya know.”

SURVEYING SNOW

McCoy was born in El Segundo, but after his parents divorced when he was a teen he went to live with his grandparents in Washington. After finishing high school in the mid-1930s, he hitchhiked his way down to Independence before making his way to Bishop.

Shortly after, he was hired by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to work on maintaining aqueducts, water metering and snow surveying.

His work took him throughout Owens Valley. He made about $4 a day.

During his time at the LADWP, he noticed that an area called McGee Mountain could be great for skiing, he said. He built rope tows that local skiers would use to get on the mountain. By the '40s, he noticed that nearby Mammoth had much better skiing potential.

“I knew there was snow,” he said in a recent video. “Nobody else wanted to think about it. There was no road to it, there was too much snow. The winters were so long. In those days, if you wanted to go enjoy something, you had to go hike for it. And every time we went back there, it was so great.”

There were also no trails, no signs telling people what runs are black diamond, no luxury of a fast-moving lift that can hold four people at a time.

The area had a population of six.

“There wasn't even a stop sign,” he said with a chuckle. “Could you imagine?”

In the early days, McCoy didn't charge for the portable tow rope he had created.

“We could go anywhere there was snow,” he said. “There are mountains everywhere, you could go anywhere.”

MAMMOTH LAUNCH

He said that when the opportunity came up for an operator to get a permanent lift permit in 1953, “nobody else wanted it.”

“Nobody else could ever see Mammoth become successful, it was too much out of the way, too much snow,” he said.

By that time, McCoy already had about a dozen makeshift tow ropes in place and a nice warming hut to thaw out. Skiers would line up in the early-morning hours.

The mountain was put up for bid, and if people wanted to make it an official ski destination, and they had the money and time to do so, they could make an offer, he said.

McCoy wrote on a piece of paper that he would install three chairlifts.

“This is what I want to do,” he said to the Forest Service.

“Nobody did any better.”

The first ski lodge was built that year, and by 1955 the first ski lift was installed. Then another, and another.

Much has happened between then and now. Mammoth has evolved into a town with high-end hotels and restaurants, drawing people from around the world. Gone are the days when few people could be found on the frontier. These days the lift lines can be long and the runs thick with crowds.

“Now if you talk about Mammoth, they talk about a city,” he said.

BEYOND SLOPES

McCoy was more than the man who built Mammoth Mountain ski resort. He also had his hand in the development of the town's schools, hospitals and infrastructure.

“I was responsible for the start of a lot things,” he said. “I've had a very interesting life.”

But McCoy is quick to say he didn't create what exists today.

“I didn't make Mammoth. I was only part of it,” he said.

He credits his employees, at one time 2,000, for the success of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.

“It seemed like any time I wanted to do something, someone gave it to me,” he said. “They came and stayed, whether they got paid to do it or not.”

McCoy talked about his passion for the Olympics and how he was supposed to compete in the 1930s.

“I couldn't afford to leave the mountain, so I didn't go,” he said.

McCoy got to live vicariously through people from around the world who came to Mammoth to train for the Olympics over the years, with his help.

“I've trained many, many athletes.”

McCoy said his job got better every day, though there were many days he got only four hours sleep a day, working seven days a week.

“We took every penny we could to reinvest, reinvest,” he said.

“Every day was a surprise. Every day was taking care of people. They took care of me.”

When asked his favorite trail on the slopes, he replied: “When I have my skis on and I'm going down hill, it doesn't make a difference.”

STILL FORWARD

At 98, McCoy doesn't think about the past much.

“You gotta think about the future, you gotta live today.”

He said during his time with Mammoth, he's not sure anybody thought of him as a businessman. He sold his stake in 2005, and he's happy with retired life. The mountain's sale price: $365 million.

“I'm happy to be out of it, that way I don't have to worry about it,” he said.

He had six kids, his oldest still lives across the street from him in Bishop. He quit skiing five years ago, though still enjoys the cold by getting out in his four-wheel drive or hanging with ducks in a nearby lake. He keeps busy with his photography, which he shares on davemccoyphoto.com, and continues his innovations with a new four-wheel, all-terrain electric vehicle he's building.

“Today is my favorite. That's where you have to be, every day,” he said.

He said it's important for younger generations to continue their love of snow sports, especially in Mammoth.

“Us older folks, we quit skiing,” he said. “If we don't have the kids skiing, it will die off.”

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